Edward Taylor
A lifelong loser and drifter, Edward Taylor has recently produced his only success with Shiver, a powerful chem. He has resided in Rapid City for the last decade, being one of the few "accepted" residents. Biography Edward was born on the outskirts of Heart Break, in what was Nebraska in 2256. His parents were nomadic scavengers and moved around the state constantly when he was growing up. He gave up on any hope from his family at fourteen, after witnessing a particularly nasty spat between his parents. He ran away to the Badlands Territory, hoping it wouldn't live up to it's reputation. He would be sorely disappointed, enslaved almost as soon as he entered South Dakota. Along with six other captives, he was taken to Deadwood and sold on the auction block, ending up a raider servant. He was the latest trophy of Veronica Vandada, the leader of the wealthy Crow Face '''raiders. Edward was to show that she could afford to buy slaves, as oppose to take them herself. He was kept on a fashionable leather leash while in her presence, and fed from a clean plastic plate. She even deemed it appropriate to teach him a trade, something almost unheard of among her followers. Edward would thus be introduced to the band's chem brewer, Lists. The older man was short on patience for the pampered slave, and would beat him whenever he made a mistake. Despite suffering many bruises and a few broken bones, Edward became a competent chem brewer after several years. His time as a slave was soon coming to an end, however, with Veronica moving to kill one of her cousins in Rapid City. Edward was dragged along and made to constantly produce psycho. The warband arrived on the outskirts of Rapid City on October 18th of 2274, just before a sudden snowstorm trapped them in the ruins. There would be a few skirmishes that winter, but when the city began to thaw, The Crow Faces really began to fight. The raiders had stockpiled their chems all winter and when they could move freely, they began to take them. Those were the longest three days of Edward's life, forced to brew constantly and just as liable to get killed by his own side as the other. His servitude would be ended due to a faulty landmine exploding in the '''Crow Face camp, killing Veronica and the three others standing over it. Going out to see what happened, he took his chance and ran as hard as he could into the ruins. He managed to evade his compatriots, but now found himself in a strange warzone with just the clothes on his back. He would wander around gun battles until coming upon a small park, swings rusting where they stood. The ornamental plants had long since perished, but there was one strong species growing; Switch grass. Needing to get high to calm his nerves, Edward picked some strands of the plant, ground it up, and smoked it from a small pipe he made. The high would be a deep sleep, with him waking seven hours later, with all his muscles aching. Surprised by his trip, he decided to play with this plant a little. He claimed a small house across from the park, raiding the neighborhood for the supplies he needed. He would construct a small lab there and by summer had made a dozen batches, testing it on the local addicts. This would attract the attention of The Rust Bones, the local raider clan. Two members came to the lab and demanded a share of Edward's profits, which he gave willingly. The two also were interested in what he was making, taking some of the early samples of Shiver. It would take the next three years for Edward to make a more stable version of Shiver, and it quickly proved popular among the Rust Bones. The clan chief, Screwdriver, worked out a contract with Edward, finally giving the man a taste of the good life. Able to afford better equipment, he soon turned out larger amounts of Shiver as well as Jet and Psycho. His involvement in the creation was minimized by the raiders, who claimed they made it whenever an unscrupulous caravan stopped in town. Edward was glad for his lack of fame, finding it easier to brew in peace. He would spend the early 2280s in his lab or trading with the raiders. He would make a small trip closer to the fighting to plant more Switch grass, avoiding super mutants the entire time. He would be detained by a patrol of the American Northern Army on his return trip, but bribed his way out of it. Since then he has stuck near his lab, filling the orders that the Rust Bones receive and reflecting on life. He has thought of pursuing employment at Hoolihan's Elixers and Tonics, but deems it a pipe dream for now. Personality Edward is a quiet, reclusive man, haunted by his years in bondage. He wears short sleeves out of comfort but still tries to hide his scars from whomever he is dealing with. He rationalizes the effects of his chems away, but still takes several doses a day himself. Category:Characters Category:Badlands